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Archaeology Backs Up The Bible…. Again.

One of the most interesting areas of apologetics (the study of what we believe and how to defend it) is Biblical Archaeology. There are so many finds that have been made over the last couple of centuries that backup the Bible as true. As a matter of fact, to my knowledge, there has never been an archaeological discovery that has contradicted anything in Scripture. It is important to remember that this does not means that everything in the Bible has been proven through archaeology either. There are many things that we have not been able to find or to “prove.” The old adage “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” holds very true in this case. Just because we have not found anything to support a certain passage does not mean that passage is wrong, it simply means we have not found anything yet. For years, the name of David was completely non-existent in the historical or archeological record outside of the Bible. That was until the 1960’s when the Tel Dan Stele was discovered and it plainly refers to the “House of David.”

Recently another fascinating discovery was made near the south side of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. A small bulla, or clay seal, was found in an area and a level that was consistent with the 8th century BC. A bulla would have been used to seal a package or a document so that they recipient would know that is was genuine and had not been tampered with. This bulla has what appears to be the signature of the prophet Isaiah. The name Isaiah is plainly clear and there is another Hebrew word immediately following the name that seems to be the word for prophet. The last letter of the word is missing due to damage to the bulla but it is very possible and/or probable that this is a seal from the prophet Isaiah. One fact that lends even further credibility to this find is that it is located in an area that just a few years ago produced a similar bulla with the name of King Hezekiah, a contemporary of Isaiah. There are many places in the Old Testament where we find both Isaiah and Hezekiah talked about and stories of their interactions.

One of the things that makes this discovery even more interested

Discoveries like this are not proofs that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God but they do bolster the fact that the Bible is much more than just a book of myth and legend. Our faith in God and His plan for mankind must find its footing in faith, but that footing is solidified when we can show that the Bible is a historically accurate document. For the believer and the apologist, this is simply one more tool in our kit to help us give a reason for our faith.